We never know the worth of water until the well runs dry. --- English proverb

Recently, when the pump on my well was broken, and I had no water for twenty-four hours, I became aware of how much I needed water. In the bathroom, in the kitchen, to drink, to clean, to quench the thirst of my flowers on my deck garden. Lexie, my sweet little canine companion, must have water to drink. We take it for granted that when we turn on the spigot, water will flow. 

Early the morning after the pump broke, a crew showed up from the Well company and within a few hours, my pump was repaired. Soon I had water in the kitchen, the bathroom, the laundry room, and I felt a huge relief.

But the problem continued. The water that came from my faucets at the kitchen sink was red! The commodes in all bathrooms filled with rusty water and stained the porcelain. No point in scrubbing. Every time water came from the water closet, it was reddish-brown.

I have a whole house water filter, but it did no good although it was brand new. The filter under my sink in the kitchen could not clean the red water. And in the laundry, the washing machine filled with dirty water which would stain my clothes rather than clean them.

I called the Well Company. Someone came when I was not home, checked the well for chemicals, and told me all was fine. He did not come inside and see the dirty water coming from every pipe. He had no suggestions other than getting a good filter.

After almost a week of red water, it finally began to run clear again. I was told that when my water was turned off and left off for all that time, the silt that had settled in the bottom of the holding tank was stirred up from the pressure when the water was once again flowing into the tank.

Now, I know nothing about wells, pipes, holding tanks, or anything to do with all that happened to me. But I was so overjoyed when I finally had clean water again. My filters were replaced, and I am very grateful for good clean water.

I remembered again how much water is worth.

This incident in my life comes to mind after hearing the speech by our new president of the USA last night. My lack of water and the fear, the worry, and frustration trying to fix the problem reminds me of the past four years of my life.

During the last administration when all the news was upsetting, worrisome, and scary coming from Washington, I and many of my friends and family felt on edge every day. We worried about the state of our government and what was going to happy to us in the world where so much chaos seemed to reign.

Many of us lived in a state of fear and felt stressed out all the time. We felt helpless about the future. We were bombarded with fearful rhetoric and listened to friends around the world who were as concerned as we were. We had never seen such mean-spirited comments from leadership in our country. We became a truly divided nation. 

Finally, last night when President Biden spoke on television, I realized we are back on track. Just like the water had finally cleared up and was safe, I am not stressed, not afraid, not apprehensive about the future.

His speech has been compared to the speeches given by Franklin Roosevelt when our country was threatened by foreign enemies and when a great depression had devastated so many lives. I heard a voice of hope and light for all of us. Just a simple straight-forward talk to us, the people of the United States. He told us what has been accomplished in the past 100 days, but he didn’t brag or compare his accomplishments to those of past presidents. Joe Biden is a confident man who genuinely cares and relates to everyone if they will give him a chance.

Just as I missed terribly the water when the well went dry, I missed having a person in control of our government who is experienced in the job, knows how to accomplish more employment for the middle class and so many who have fallen below middle class economically. He understands that when one percent of our citizens own over 90 percent of the wealth in this country, things must change to make it fair for everyone. When CEOs make 300 times more than those who build the products or fulfill the services of their companies, our country is on the wrong path and will cause us to lose our democracy. 

When so many corporations make billions of dollars every year and do not pay one cent in federal taxes, something is seriously wrong.

I just hope those in Congress will support the ideas set forth last night and give them a try. We the people want those who are our leaders to work together, to compromise if necessary to fulfill the needs of our citizens. 

I hate to even think about politics, and I don’t want to argue politics with anyone, but right now, I feel safer, more secure and less fearful than I have in a long, long time.